Beat Tokyo To Geneva, This Is The World's Most Expensive City For Foreign Workers

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan became the most expensive city for foreign workers in 2021 according to Mercer's version. (Wikimedia Commons/John Pavelka)

JAKARTA - Ashgabat in Turkmenistan is the world's most expensive city for foreign workers, according to this year's Mercer Cost of Living Survey. A total of 209 cities in the world were surveyed this year.

The survey was conducted on a comparative cost basis, including housing, transportation, food, and entertainment, with New York City used as the baseline comparison.

The capital of Turkmenistan, which came second in last year's list, is something of a difference in the top 10, which mostly have business hubs such as Hong Kong (last year's most expensive city and second most expensive this year), Tokyo (fourth for 2021), Zurich (number five for 2021) and Singapore (number seven for 2021).

Turkmenistan's ongoing financial crisis and causing food shortages and hyperinflation are cited by Mercer as reasons why Ashgabat's cost of living has increased over the past few years.

The biggest change in this year's survey is the rise of Beirut, the Lebanese capital that previously ranked 45th last year has now jumped to third.

Mercer puts this development on the Lebanese economic depression, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut Port explosion in August last year.

Meanwhile, the euro exchange rate rose almost 11 percent against the United States (US) dollar, making European cities rank relatively more expensive than in the US.

This resulted in New York City dropping out of Mercer's top 10 overall, while Paris moved up the rankings from number 50 in 2020 to number 33 in 2021. Similarly, the appreciation of the Australian dollar saw Australian cities like Sydney and Melbourne move up in the rankings. Mercer.

As for the cheapest cities for overseas workers, Mercer's ranking shows Tbilisi, Georgia (number 207), Lusaka, Zambia (number 208), and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (number 209).

Northeast International Mobility Leader, Mercer Vince Cordova, told CNN Travel this year's rankings were also affected by the changing business model after the pandemic.

Between travel restrictions, the widespread adoption of the work-from-home model, and the COVID-19 situation that varies from country to country, some companies are opting for international remote hiring instead of relocating workers to other countries.

"As the types of international assignments change, this creates changes in the demand for certain goods and services and different consumer profiles", explained Cordova, as quoted by CNN Tuesday, June 22.

Cordova also noted the impact of China's rapid but uneven recovery from COVID-19 on this year's results.

"It's the only major economy to achieve growth in 2020", he said, pointing out this has caused Chinese cities to move up the rankings overall.

Looking ahead, Cordova suggested the US dollar could 'return' over the next year, which could determine the shape of the rating in the future.

City cost of living ranking 2021

1. Ashgabat (Turkmenistan)

2. Hong Kong (China)

3. Beirut (Lebanon)

4. Tokyo (Japan)

5. Zurich (Switzerland)

6. Shanghai (China)

7. Singapore

8. Geneva (Switzerland)

9. Beijing (China)

10. Bern (Switzerland)